I Remember

I Remember…Bobby Naftzinger coming into my office on Dover AFB to say that a commercial airliner had just struck the World Trade Center.

I Remember…watching the second plane strike the other tower and realizing these were not accidents, but something much worse.

I Remember…watching the towers crumble into heaps.

I Remember…Janet, my wife calling to tell me that our children were on lock down in the school on base.

I Remember…reassuring her that they were extremely safe as we tried to make sense of what was happening.

I Remember…wishing I was with Janet, David Wayne and Sara.

I Remember…learning that a plane had flown into the Pentagon.

I Remember…hearing that a commercial airliner was missing.

I Remember…the sense of dread and concern while United Airlines Flight 93 was unaccounted for.

I Remember…how empty the sky was.

I Remember…the uneasiness and emptiness I felt through the day.

I Remember…the sorrow I felt for the victims.

I Remember…the relief I felt when Janet called to tell me she had the kids and was heading home.

I Remember…the relief and joy I felt when I got home and hugged my family.

I Remember…holding practice, as scheduled, for my U8 girls soccer team because I wanted these young ladies to experience something normal on this terrible day.

I Remember…people are important.

September 11, 2001…I Remember.